Liverpool swept four points clear at the top of the Premier League as Mohamed Salah’s masterclass inspired a memorable 6-3 rout of Tottenham on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Salah delivered a sublime performance featuring two goals and a pair of assists as Arne Slot’s side ran riot in north London.<\/p>\n
Liverpool took advantage of second-placed Chelsea’s 0-0 draw at Everton earlier in the day to cement their status as title favourites heading into the Christmas period.<\/p>\n
Hapless Tottenham had no answer to Liverpool’s intelligent pressing and supreme passing and movement, with Egypt star Salah at the heart of their lethal attack.<\/p>\n
Salah is the only Premier League player to reach double figures in goals (15) and assists (11) this season.<\/p>\n
The 32-year-old is now Liverpool’s fourth top scorer ever with 229 goals.<\/p>\n
His brace took him past Billy Liddell, with only Ian Rush (346), Roger Hunt (285) and Gordon Hodgson (241) ahead of him.<\/p>\n
Salah’s latest heroics only underlined the urgency to get his future resolved, with the forward’s current deal due to expire at the end of the season.<\/p>\n
He is free to sign a pre-contract agreement with foreign clubs from January and has hinted several times that this could be his last season at Anfield.<\/p>\n
With Salah scoring 18 times in all competitions, Liverpool have been on fire since Slot arrived from Feyenoord to replace Jurgen Klopp in the close-season.<\/p>\n
Klopp delivered Liverpool’s last Premier League title in 2020 and it looks increasingly likely Slot will emulate that success in his maiden campaign.<\/p>\n
The Reds have won 21 of their 25 matches in all competitions under Slot and have a game in hand on Chelsea to strengthen their lead in the title race.<\/p>\n
This was a remarkable display of Liverpool’s firepower as Luis Diaz and Alexis Mac Allister scored to put them in command.<\/p>\n
Dominik Szoboszlai grabbed Liverpool’s third just before the interval and Salah took over after the break before Diaz netted again.<\/p>\n
Punished for Ange Postecoglou’s insistence on sticking to his high defensive line, it was the first time in 10 years that Tottenham had conceded five or more at home in a Premier League game.<\/p>\n
An eighth league defeat this season leaves Tottenham languishing in 11th place as the pressure mounts on Postecoglou. Liverpool’s pressure reaped its deserved reward in the 23d minute as Trent Alexander-Arnold’s inch-perfect cross arced towards Diaz, who headed past Fraser Forster from six yards.<\/p>\n Tottenham fans released black balloons in protest at chairman Daniel Levy’s reign midway through the first half.<\/p>\n They became even more deflated in the 36th minute as Liverpool struck again.<\/p>\n Szoboszlai climbed to meet Andrew Robertson’s cross and the ball deflected kindly for Mac Allister to nod beyond Forster from close range.<\/p>\n Liverpool’s focus briefly wobbled as Mac Allister was robbed by Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison rifled home from 18 yards.<\/p>\n But Szoboszlai quickly restored the two-goal lead, capping a typically incisive raid in the final seconds before half-time.<\/p>\n Salah took Szoboszlai’s flick in stride and returned a clever reverse pass to the midfielder, who took a touch before planting his shot through Forster’s legs.<\/p>\n It wasn’t long before the unstoppable Salah got on the scoresheet.<\/p>\n Cody Gakpo slipped a pass into the six-yard box in the 54th minute and, when Tottenham failed to clear, Salah was on hand to tap in.<\/p>\n Salah bagged his sixth goal in his last five games in all competitions seven minutes later with another close-range finish from Szoboszlai’s pass.<\/p>\n Dejan Kulusevski’s 72nd-minute volley from just inside the area was followed by Dominic Solanke’s close-range effort in the 83rd minute as Tottenham hit back.<\/p>\n But Salah provided a fitting coda to his eye-catching display two minutes later with a precise pass that Diaz converted to ensure the scoreline reflected Liverpool’s supremacy.<\/p>\n By Agencies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Liverpool swept four points clear at the top of the Premier League as Mohamed Salah’s masterclass inspired a memorable 6-3 rout of Tottenham on Sunday. Salah delivered a sublime performance featuring two goals and a pair of assists as Arne Slot’s side ran riot in north London. Liverpool took advantage of second-placed Chelsea’s 0-0 draw<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":135,"featured_media":265328,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-287012","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n
\nUnstoppable Salah<\/strong>
\nForeshadowing the demolition to come, Salah slalomed past three Tottenham defenders and blasted against the crossbar in the early stages.<\/p>\n